As we approach the second semester of the 2013-14 school year, the De Blasio Administration should be working on improving the New York City public schools and start the process to eliminate the Bloomberg education policies that hurt the schools and the students in them. While Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Carmen Farina have only been in charge for a month and change does take time. Their priority should be to do what's best for the student academic outcomes going forward.
The question is how can we improve student academic achievement for the second semester? What can be done this semester and will cost little or no extra money and help students improve academically? My suggestion is to place the 2,000+ ATRs back into the classroom within their District, either as a "push in" teacher, co-teacher, and filling all vacancies with the ATRs. Since the DOE is paying for the ATRs already, it will only cost a minimal amount of money as schools would need to hire a few more substitute teachers since the ATRs would not be "babysitting" students anymore. However, the De Blasio administration must include a total hiring freeze, no exceptions, if this is to work.
Yes, some Principals may object to being forced to hire ATRs but its not "what's best for the principals", its what's best for the students and that means that schools must hire the "best" not the "cheapest" teachers as they have over the Bloomberg last two terms as Mayor. Furthermore, many of the ATRs are "quality teachers" and are considered "highly qualified" by the "No Child Left Behind" act.
If the Mayor and Chancellor really want to change things quickly and help the students imporove academically, then let's put the ATRs back in the classroom where they belong. Doesn't the City's children deserve as many "quality teachers" that they can have instructing them? I think so.
22 comments:
Chaz you keep talking about putting us back in the classroom but you never talk about which schools we should be put back into!!! I hate rotating but I would rather rotate than be placed in many of the awful schools out there with awful principals. So how do you propose that the placements get done because everyone will want the same 10 schools that are actually functioning. In addition as I have said I have received zero training in common core and Danielson and I do not want to be evaluated using this garbage until at least I know what they are. I also don't know how to use a smart board - where is our training? Can you please respond to these issues - thanks!
As an atr I actually babysat today!! It seems that when schools have day care they need a licensed teacher in the room so the other atr and I spent an hour watching toddlers sleep!. Thank goodness they were sleeping because I would have refused to actually touch them for fear of a lawsuit. The regular school aides were there with us but yes I actually babysat today as an ATR .
Of course will will need to be trained and the observation for this year will still be "S/U".
While I don't believe in forced placement, we are teachers and there must be a way to put us back into the classroom where we belong.
They could do a mass rotation for professional development; several hundred one day a week. I must also mention CTE teachers. Bloomy, the business man, decimated business schools and programs through out the city.
I don't want to teach out of license for the rest of my career (albeit a short time) or get another license which the DOE is pushing ( it doesn't make financial or common sense for me). There has to be a sense of decency and fairness for all of us; we've treated like s--t.
You are much more optimistic than I am. We could have had training for years once a week twice a week even every day instead of babysitting and we have received none of it. I don't think the solution is as simple as you are making it - no one has a clue as to how to place us fairly and I don't believe it will work - someone is going to get campus magnet and someone is going to get Townsend Harris - how is that fair? There needs to be a major public discussion about placement and training and thus far neither has happened. I am not arguing with you I just wish you could think of a fair solution before a lot of atrs get really really screwed!
I'm not an ATR but can't help but notice you guys keep writing about being trained. What are you guys referring to when you write this? I wasn't trained in anything regarding CC or Daniekson. We just do what we're supposed to. I guess there's such a thing like Danielson training or whatever else type if training you're talking about, but I don't think you all should assume that you guys are missing out on some secret special training. There really was never any.
Let me get this straight, you want to place atr's back into schools where principals don't want us. That my friend is a recipe for disaster, I rather rotate like anonymous 649 said than be forced placed into the overwhelming number of bad schools. There is no way to put us back into the classroom without lots of problems. Just what bloomterd wanted!! To all my fellow atr's, stop thinking about real teaching again and come to grips with our situation. Enjoy being an atr. The best job in the doe!!!
What do you mean put back in the classroom. I'm a relatively new ATR who is not babysitting. I teach quality lessons every day in every class. I am concerned that I am not getting my professional periods and am asked to teach four in a row, is that legal. Also - isn't there a limit if ten in 37 minutes. Today-- I had the full class but with the class rosters divided into three sheets and just me .
Like your other writer-// I have not been trained in Danielson. Should I be worried? Thanks.
Are you joking? I made over 2 grand in August alone for Danielson training, ( as did 50 other teachers from my school). I made another 2 grand in July for ELL training. ATRs are getting completely shafted.
I agree with the above poster, there has to be a measure of fairness and input about placement. Regular teachers get a say in where they work- I didn't choose to have my school phased out!
If you worked in a school that was identified as a school that would be closing (thus phasing out), you would have a few years to do the smart thing and try to jump off that particular Titanic ship. If you chose to stay while the iceberg was directly in front if you, shouldn't you take some blame for riding it out? As soon as that bitch superintendent from the Bronx named my school as one that would be phasing out, I worked diligently to remove myself, which I did. If you actually stayed, you are insane!!!!
Change will not happen over night with the new administration. Carmen Farina has 30,000 problems she needs to rectify due to Bloomberg's atrocities to the school system. Once these changes are implemented, it may take a while for them to actually get down. Just because they have not shared or published their new plans yet, does not mean they are not working on it.
They are being smart for not sharing the information until its ready to be shared.
to anon 9:29 attempts were made to transfer, but as a 20 yr vet principals were reluctant to hire me.once again- i did not choose this situation thrust upon me.Glad things worked out for you.
The ATR educators are the true heroes enduring the brunt of the bloomberg dictatorship repression. ATR educators have suffered for quite some time now being outcast by bloomberg and for no go reason, really. What the heck was the sense of it anyway? I think that ole maniac mayor just loves to mess with people its his way of exercising some sort of power ego or something I just dont know but the creation of this ridiculous pool is total insanity and it has lasted way too long. The sad thing is that the students have suffered missing out on some of the finest educators nyc has to offer....such shame...
I agree with the previous comment Farina has 99 problems and the ATR mess is not one of them! The ATR situation is going to linger until their is a public outcry and accountability!
My opinion, the union and the DOE hope this will clear the ATR teachers out of the system by natural attrition
On another note, I proctor end the global regents today. There were 19 names on the register and 10 showed up. So if every student passed the rate would be just above 50% due to the absences. Out of the 10, 2 gave up and the other 8 had no chance. Let's say 2 out of the 8 passed. That would be 2 out of 19. Do the math! Thus crap system is designed to fail. Let's have more ridiculous tests and pay Pearson to write them up.
It would be nice if the union would assuage our (ATR) anxiety about the future. I don't like to malign the union, but they haven't been helpful or informative, indeed they give out misinformation. In September, I called the Bronx Union office and asked for Amy Arundel; a woman with a slightly urban southern accent came on. I asked her questions about what we have to do and not do. She said we have to do everything asked of us, including clerical work. She also said we have to accept any position offered, even if it's out of license. It was only later I found out Ms. Arundel is in the Manhattan office and is a white woman. Why would the Bronx UFT do something like that?! I bad mouthed Amy for a month (sorry Amy) until I found out. That's been my sole experience with the union since becoming an ATR in September.
I was forced to escort students to the bathroom during the test - clearly a violation of the contract and no teachers were complaining. When I said that I wanted to talk to the chapter leader it somehow got back to the APO that I was refusing the assignment which was totally untrue. I received no apology from her and when I told her it was not allowed she said it was and that we were acting as hall proctors which we were clearly not. Teacher told on me ! I couldn't believe my ears and I did nothing wrong. What a dump. Score one for admin and zero for union again.
The ole nyc gotham news is now officially a bullshit website dedicated to the charter school bozos. Case in point: The new CHALKBEAT site is a complete disaster but noted that one section had a photo slideshow of nyc schools but most of the photos from charters!! Very few pictures from nyc schools mostly all from bogus charters...LOl cannot help it....goodbye chalkbeat i now consider you out of mainstream just like your old money bags donate king bloomshits...i officially erased that bogus site off my favorites
http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/mediarelations/NewsandSpeeches/2013-2014/Chancellor+Fari%C3%B1a+Announces+New+Appointments+at+Department+Of+Education+Headquarters.htm
Why not hire all ATR's? Especially ones that are there because their school closed. Instead of new schools being allowed to hire new staff they should hire the ones that were sent out of their building!!! Article 18D or whatever it's called is bull!! The small schools opening up are not abiding by the rule. Who is monitoring this??
The whole ATR situation should have been appealed to the Commissioner of Education pursuant to Education Law §310.
Why wasn't it?
www.counsel.nysed.gov/appeals
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